Inclined-hoist control.



D. F. LEPLEY. mcuwev HOIST commo APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I9. 1911. 1,294,124, Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

TSHEETSSHEET l.

Witnesse s I inventor by "if a WWW r 1 t;

D. F.-L.EPLEY. INCLINED HOIST CONTROL. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-19.1917.

7 SHEETS-.SHEET 2.

Attorneys Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

' Witnesses' rns uomm FZYERS cu. Puma-Luna. WAsNInGYON, n. c.

D. FL LEPLEY.

INCLINED HOIST CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-19,1917.

1,294,124. Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

7 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Witnesses Inventor Attorneys 0. F. LEPLEY. INCLINED HOIST CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-'19, I917.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

I'SHEET$SHEET 4.

Inventor,

Witnesses D. F. LEPLEY.

INCLINE!) HOIST CONTROL. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. I917.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

1 SHEETSSHEET 5.

"0. F. LEPLEY. mcuwen HOIST CONTROL. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-$9,19l7.

LQ94 124. Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

7 SHEETS SHE-Ef 6.

Attorneysa D. F. LEPLEY.

INCLINED HOIST CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-19. 1911..

Y Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

Witnesses WW a Aftorneys TINTTED @TATES PATENT QFFTUE.

DANIEL F. LEPLEY, 0F CONNELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

INCLINED-HOIST CONTROL.

Application filed September 19, 1917.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, DANIEL F. LEPLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Connellsville, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Inclined-Hoist Control, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for controlling the movement of a car on an inclined hoist such as is used by mines.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the speed of the car when moving down the incline will be maintained uniform no matter what variations may occur in the grade of the track over which it is traveling.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed it being understood that changes in the precise embodimentof the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

Fig. '3 is a section on line 33 Fig. 1.

Fig. 4L is a section on line H Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail view-of the controller operating means.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the yieldable clutch.

Fig. 7 is a face view thereof.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the pendulum controlled valve. 7

Fig. 9 is a detail view'of the governor controlled. valve mechanism.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section through the casing of the governor controlled valve and showing the valve in elevation.

- transmits motion through a suitable cou- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

Serial No. 192,162.

pling C to a shaft D carrying a gear E which transmits motion through a larger gear F to the cable drum G of the hoisting apparatus. This drum has a brake wheel H at one side thereof and adapted to rotate therewith.

.The brake wheel H is partly surrounded by a brake band I one end of which is fixedly secured as indicated at I while its other end is connected to one arm of a bell crank lever l fulcrumed as at 2 and having its other end slidably and pivotally connected to the short arm 3 of another bell crank lever 4:. This lever at is fulcrumed as at 5 upon the short arms 6 of a lever 7 which is mounted on a suitable supporting bracket 8. The other arm of the lever is forked to provide parallel members as shown at 9 in Fig. 1 and on each of these members is mounted an adjustable weight 10.

The members of the forked lever extend past opposite sides of valve gearing which has been indicated generally at 11, and which has been described and claimed in Patent No. 1183306, issued to me on May 16, 1916. This valve gearing includes in the present instance a pressure cylinder 12 located below a dash pot 13, both the pressure cylinder and the dash pot having valve connections of the form illustrated in my patent before mentioned, the valves of the cylinder and dash pot being connected by rods 14 toa lever 16 which extends between the cylinder and its dash pot and is fulcrumed at 17. The piston rod 18 which works in the cylinder 12 and its dash pot 13 is provided with a cross head 19 the ends of which are connected by links 20 to the members 9 of the forked lever 7. Thus when the lever 16 is shifted in one direction, the valve gearing will be shifted to direct pressure into the lower end of the cylinder 12 to cause the links 20 to thrust upwardly against the levers 9 and member 7, and when lever 16 is moved in the opposite direction the movement of the valve gearing will be reversed thereby to direct pressure into the upper portion of cylinder 12 to set up a downward pull upon the members 9 of-levers 7 through the links 20. The dash pot operates to retard the movement of the piston rod18 during the actuation of the parts by the fluid under pressure. As the valve mechanism per se constitutes no part of the present invention but has already been described and illustrated fully in my patent before mentioned, it is not deemed necessary to enter into a detailed description thereof in the present case.

The lever 7 and adjacent parts are preferably extended under a platform 21 to be occupied by the operator, and journaled under the platform is a transverse shaft 22 having a radial arm 23 fixedly connected to one end. This arm has a longitudinal slot 24 into which projects loosely a pin 25 extending laterally from the lever 16. Said pin also projects loosely into a longitudinal slot 26 formed within the upper portion of a link 27 pivotally connected to one arm of a lever 28. The other arm of this lever is weighted as indicated at 29, and said lever is fulcrumed, as at 30, upon a suitable bracket 31. A cylinder 32 is arranged under the long weighted arm of the lever, and has a piston 33 slidably mounted therein. This piston is connected by a link 34 to the weighted arm of the lever so that, when pressure is directed into the cylinder 32 it will elevate the piston 33 and cause the weighted end of the lever to'move upwardly while the link 27 will be pulled downwardly. The arm 35 is fixedly connected to the lever 28 at the fulcrum thereof so as to swing therewith, this arm projecting downwardly from the lever and having a weight 36 so as to constitute a counterbalance. When the lever 28 is in a substantially horizontal position the counterbalance will hang perpendicularly, but when the lever is swung out of its normal position as shown in Fig. 8 a corresponding movement will be imparted to the counterbalance and the weight 36 will tend to retard such movement and likewise to return the lever to its initial position when pressure is removed from under the piston 33.

Rotating with the drum G is a sprocket 37 designed to transmit motion through a chain 38 to another sprocket 39 which is socured to a transverse shaft 40. A gear 41 is secured to the shaft and meshes with a larger gear 42 which is feathered on another transverse shaft 43 journaled in the bearings 44 and 45. One end portion of the shaft is screw threaded as shown at 46 and eX- tends through and engages a bearing member 47 so that during the rotation of the winding drum G in either direction either under the action of a car gravitating down an incline and unwinding a cable from the drum, motion will be transmitted to the shaft 43 and the same will be rotated in either direction and fed slowly in the direction of its length;

Loosely mounted on the shaft 43 and j ournaled within the bearing 45 is a sleeve 48 to which is connected a gear 49 which cor'jperates with the bearing 45 to hold the sleeve against longitudinal movement. Shaft 43 will rotate freely within this sleeve. A clutch member 51 is carried by one end of the sleeve 48 and another clutch member 52 is slidably mounted relative to the shaft 43. This clutch member has pins 53 extending therefrom, and slidably mounted within a collar 54 extending from a sleeve which is fixedly secured to the shaft 43. The clutch member 52 slidably engages this sleeve and springs 55 are mounted on the pins 53 and serve to hold the clutch member 52 pressed yieldably away from the collar 54. This movement under the action of the springs may be limited by extending stop pins 56 through the end portions of the pins 53.

The gear 49 constantly meshes with another gear 57 secured to a transverse shaft 58 and to this shaft is secured a beveled gear 59 which constantly meshes with a beveled gear 60 secured to one end of a longitudinal shaft 61 which is mounted in suitable bearings 62, depending from the platform 21. To this shaft 61 is secured a cam in the form of a cylinder 63 having an outstanding thread 64 the intermediate portion of which is offset obliquely as shown at 65 while the end portions of the thread are located in parallel planes intersecting the shaft 61 at right angles thereto. This thread constantly engages between two teeth of a rack bar 66 which is slidably mounted in guides67 under the shaft 61. The parts are so shaped and positioned that during each rotation of the shaft 61 the thread 64 will move the rack 66 one tooth. If shaft 61 is rotated in one direction the rack bar 66 will be intermittently moved in one direction whereas, if shaft 61 is rotated in the opposite direction, an intermittent right line movement will be imparted to the rack bar in the other direction. As the thread 64 is constantly engaging the rack said rack can have no movement independently of its actuating cam. While this cam and rack are essential features of the present invention, they have been disclosed and broadly claimed in a copending application filed by me.

One end of the rack bar-66 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a lever 68. The lower end of this lever is pivotally connected to parallel rods 69 and 70 arranged side by side. The rod 69 is slidably mounted in a guide block 71 secured to the lower arm of a controller lever 72 the upper end of which is provided with a grip 73 whereby it can be shifted readily by hand. Furthermore the upper end portion of this controller lever is connected by a link 74 to the lever 75 of the controller B which, as before stated, is of the drum type- A collar 76 is mounted on the rod 69 and a spring 77 is mounted on said rod and bears at its ends against the collar 76 and the guide block 71res'pectively. The rod 70 is similarly connected to the lower end of an air brake lever 78 which is similar to the lever 7 3 and has a rod 7 9 pivotally connected to it. This rod is also connected to an arm 80 depending from the transverse shaft 22 so that when the air brake lever is moved in either direction motion is transmitted therefrom through the rod 7 9 and the crank arm 80 to the shaft 22 and thence to the floating valve gear made up of the parts 12, 13 and 14, etc.

A hand lever is mounted at one side of the air brake and controller levers and has been indicated at 81. The lower end of this hand lever is connected by a link 82 to an arm 83 extending upwardly from a trans verse shaft 84:, there being another arm 85 extending downwardly from this shaft and connected by a rod 86 to the upper arm of the bell crank lever A. The shaft 40 has a sprocket 87 loosely mounted but provided with a clutch connection 87 whereby, during the unwinding of the cable the sprocket will be actuated by the shaft but said sprocket will remain stationary during the rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction while the cable is being wound. The operation of sprocket 87 transmits motion through a chain 88 to a small sprocket 89 secured to a shaft 90. Shaft 90 has a gear 91 which transmits motion through a gear 92 to a centrifugal governor 93 of the usual construction. This governor operates in the ordinary manner to shift a rod 94 longitudinally upwardly and downwardly accord ing to the speed of rotation of the governor. The lower end of the rod is connected to a spider 95 located at the upper end of a tubular valve 96 which is open at both ends and has intermediate radial ports 97. The valve is mounted to slide within a cylindrical casing 98 the upper end of which is screwed into the cap. of a tubular standard 99 and extending around this casing is an annular passage 100 which communicates throughout its inner circumference with the interior of the casing 98 through a slot 101. A port 102 opens into this passage and is 0 provided with a pressure relief valve 103.

A port 104 opens into the casing 98 above valve 96 and communicates, through a pipe 105 with a pressure tank or other source of supply of air under pressure and which has not been shown. A pipe 106 extends from a port 107 in the bottom of the valve casing 98 and serves to direct pressure to the base of the cylinder 82 hereinbefore referred to. l

- It "is to be understood that where hoisting mechanism is employed for actuating a car on an inclined track, it is the custom to connect the car to one end of the cable, the

I other end of the cable being attached to the drum of the apparatus.

During the ascent of the car this cable is wound upon the drum by connecting the drum to a suitable power mechanism. During the descent of the car the drum is uncoupled from its driving mechanism and the weight of the car will be suflicient to unwind the cable. As cars travel at high speed upon inclined hoists it is necessary that some accurate means be employed for retarding the movement of the car as it approaches the upper limit of its movement and to finally bring it to a stop automatically so that there will be no danger of the car being pulled over the end of the tipple and thus wrecking the apparatus, and, if the car is being used for hoisting miners, causing fatalities.

The mechanism already described will meet the above requirements to provide a safe automatically controlled apparatus. When the car is to start upon its upward course along the inclined track the controller and air brake levers are shifted in one direction as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5. This causes the lever 7 5 of the controller to be shifted quickly to one extreme position so that the motor will be started automatically point by point, as is true of all controllers of the drum type. At the same time the rod 7 9 will thrust against the depending arm of shaft 22 and cause the pin 25 to move downwardly, thereby shifting the valve gearing so as to direct pressure into the lower end of the cylinder 12. This will reresult that the brake band I will be loosened.

As soon as the motor begins to operate motion will b transmitted therefrom to the drum G by means of the gears E and F so that the cable connected to the car will be wound up and said car drawn upwardly. The rotation of the drum will cause a rotation of the shaft 10 independently of the governor.

As the car approaches the upper limit of its movement the shaft 48 which has been continuously rotating during the ascent of the car and has been gradually fed longitudinally by the thread 46 will bring the clutch member 52 into engagement with the clutch member 51. This action takes place preferably when the car is within 200 feet gears 49, 57, 59 and 60 to the shaft 61 with the result that said shaft will be rotated at a high speed and the rack bar 66 will be given an intermittent right line movement. This will cause an intermittent actuation of the levers 72 and 78. The intermittent movement of levers 72 will shift the controller lever 73 intermittently to gradually cut off the current to the motor and the intermittent actuation of the lever 78 will produce a gradual pull through rod 79 and the consequent elevation of arm 23 and lever 16. Th valve gearing will thus be shifted to release pressure from the cylinder 12 and allow the weights 10 to gravitate and thereby gradually apply the brake band 1. The springs 55 of the clutch mechanism. will allow the shaft 13 to shift longitudinally after theclutch members have been brought into engagement with each other and the parts are so proportioned that just as the car reaches its terminus the power to the mo tor will be out off and the brake band will be applied, thus holding the car securely against further movement. This gradual application of the brake and shutting off of power will bring the levers 72 and 78 automatically to their intermediate or full applied positions where they will lock. During the retarding process at the termination of the haul springs 77 on th rods and 69 are strong enough to shift levers 73 and 78 without compression so that they will stand approximately vertically when the motor has been brought to a stop, with the trip at the end of the haul, with the brake applied, the controller off and the springs 7 '7 fully extended.

To lower the trip the operator pushes lever 78 forward in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 5, and compresses spring 77 on rod 70, thereby to release the brake and allow the drum to unwind. Lever 73 remains vertical and the motor idle. While the trip is lowering through the first 200 feet the rods 69 and 7 0 will be shifted away from the springs 77 to release them, this movement being transmitted through the chain 38 and its sprockets, the shafts and gears and the cam 63 and rack 66.

The drum will immediately begin to rotate under the action of the car pulling on its cable and rack 66 will be returned to its initial position while the clutch members 52 and 51 remain in engagement with each other during the expansion of the spring 55 and, when the clutch member 52 finally becomes disengaged from the clutch member 51 and rack 66 will be reset with the cam thread 6 1- in engagement with one end portion of the rack.

Motion will be transmitted through the cam 63 to the rack bar 66 which will be shifted longitudinally and release the springs 77 which are being held under compression by the operator. In the meantnne the governor has been brought into action by way of the sprockets 87 and 89, chain 88, and clutch 87. Under normal conditions pressure passes from the port 104 downward through the valve 96 to the port 107 and thence by way of pipe 106 to the lower portion of cylinder 32. Consequently piston 33 is held normally elevated with the weights 36 and 29 raised out of their normal positions and the link 27 held lowered with the pin 25 in the lower portion of its slot 26. Should the speed of descent increase until it tends to pass the predetermined speed of the car, the centrifugal governor will press downwardly upon the rod 94 so as to lower the port 97 until it communicates with the slot 101. Thus the pressure instead of passing to the pipe 106 and thence to the bottom portion of the cylinder 32 will escape to a greater or lesser extent into the annular pas sage 100 and thence through the valve 103 to the atmosphere. This reduction of pressure entering the piston 33 will result in said piston moving downwardly under the action of the weights 29 and 36 and the consequent elevation of the link 27. Said link will thus thrust upwardly on the pin and lift arm 23 and 16 so as gradually to shift the valve gearing controlled thereby and reduce the pressure in the lower portion of the cylinder 12. This reduction of pressure will result in the downward movement of the members 9 of lever 7 under the action of the weights 10 and such downward movement will produce an upward movement of the bell crank lever 4: and the rotation of the lever 1. As the upper end of lever A is held fixedly by the hand lever 81 and the link 86 the rotation of lever 1 produced in the manner described will result in a tightening of the band 1 upon the brake wheel or drum and a consequent reduction in the speed of the descending car. As the speed is reduced the band is automatically gradually released, pressure being restored under the piston 33 1 0 by the elevation of the valve 96, thus causing the lever 78 to shift backwardly and return the valve gearing to its normal position and cause the members 9 and weights 10 to be elevated by the pressure rentering 1 5 the lower end of cylinder 12.

The provision of the counterbalance 35 in addition to the weighted lever 28 is important because it holds lever 28 in positions necessary to balance varying pressures under the piston 33. As the lever and the counterbalance are extended substantially at right angles to each other, the weight on one becomes less-effective during the swinging of the lever, and the weight on the other will become increasingly efiective. Thus sufficient weight is always applied to the lever 28 to insure downward movement of the piston 33 when said piston is relieved of fluid pressure.

As the speed of movement varies, the

valve 96 will be raised and lowered thus to band 1 in the manner hereinbefore pointedout and maintain a uniform speed of the car.

The means employed for securing a predetermined uniform speed of the car while traveling along the incline is deemed of especial importance. Inclines extending ofttimes thousands of feet into a mine vary in grade and as the car travels at a very high speed, it is necessary, in order to insure smooth action and to reduce wear and tear, to have a means whereby the car will always travel at the same speed. If the speed were not brake controlled, by hand or otherwise, it would become excessive and cause wrecks.

By providing the valve 103 the escape of pressure from the governor controlled valve can be regulated, thus to regulate the speed of the car. By opening the valve to its greatest extent, the car can be caused to travel at a relatively low speed, as when carrying passengers whereas, by partly closing the valve 103 the speed of the car can be increased, as where coal or the like is being hauled.

In the event of the failure of the automatic control the hand lever 81 can be employed to apply the brake.

What is claimed is 1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a hoisting drum, means for actuating the same and brake mechanism, of a gravity operated lever adapted normally to apply the brake mechanism, pressure operated means for holding said lever out of normal position to permit free movement of the drum, gravity operated means for releasing pressure from said pressure operated means, means for directing pressure to said last named gravity operated means to offset the action of gravity, and governor operated means for controlling the flow of pressure to the last named gravity operated means thereby to actuate the brake mechanism and maintain the drum at a uniform speed of rotation.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a winding drum, and means for actuating the drum, of brake mechanism including a band fixedly mounted at one end, bell crank levers connected to the other end of the band, a lever having a weighted arm, a bell crank lever mounted on the other arm of the weighted lever and interposed between and connected to said arm and one arm of the first named bell crank lever, a hand lever, means for locking said hand lever against movement, a connection between the hand lever and the interposed bell crank lever, pressure operated means for holding the weight of the weighted lever in an elevated posit-ion to maintain the band slack, and speed controlled means operatively connected to the drum for controlling the pressure to vary the elevation of the weight and the application of the brake band.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination of a winding drum and brake mechanism, of gravity operated means for holding the brake mechanism normally applied, pressure operated means for offsetting the action of the gravity operated means and permitting free rotation of the drum, a pressure actuated plunger, a weighted lever connected thereto and adapted to be elevated thereby, a weighted counterbalance fixedly connected to and movable with the lever, means operated by the lever during the release of the pressure from the plunger for releasing pressure from the gravity operated means, and speed controlled means operating simultaneously with the drum for regulating the pressure upon the plunger to maintain a uniform speed of rotation of the drum.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a hoisting drum and means for actuating the same, a brake mechanism, pressure controlled means for controlling the application of the brake mechanism, and speed controlled means for controlling the pressure, said speed controlled means including a valve casing having a pressure inlet and a pressure outlet, said casing having an intermediate exhaust, a tubular valve mounted for reciprocation within the casing and having open ends, said valve normally establishing communication between the pressure inlet and pres sure outlet and having a radial port, and governor operated means for shifting the valve to move the port into or out of communication with the exhaust.

5. In apparatus of the class described a drum, a pressure actuated plunger, a weighted lever connected thereto and adapted to be elevated thereby, a weighted pendulum fixedly connected to and movable with the lever to hold said lever in any positions necessary to balance varying pressures under the piston, gravity operated brake applying means, pressure operated means for offsetting-the action of the gravity operated means, means operated by the lever during the release of the pressure from the plunger for releasing pressure from the gravity operated means, and speed controlled means operating simultaneously with the drum for regulating the pressure upon the plunger to maintain a uniform speed of rotation of the drum.

6. The combination with an incline, a car adapted to travel thereon, a winding drum,

a connection between the drum and the car, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as and a brake, of means for maintaining a unimy oWn, I have hereto aifixed my signature form brake application While the car is in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

traveling along the unvarying grade, and 'DANIEL F. LEPLEY. governor controlled means for varying the Witnesses:

brake application during the travel of the IVY E. SIMPSON,

car over a varying grade. P. A. RooKELLI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

